Sushi Ota

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Sushi Ota often ranks as San Diego’s best sushi joint. Simple, casual, and straightforward, it has made national ‘best-of’ lists since opening in 1990, when sushi master chef Yukita Ota moved to San Diego from Japan after finding the local uni here to be the best in the world. For a sushi chef, San Diego is not normally paradise.

It is for this reason perhaps that Sushi Ota prospers, a beacon of hope burning bright for those who look for something beyond crab cake-topped sushurrito bombs and aioli-infused garlic tofu mega rolls when they say they’re going out to ‘eat sushi.’

Despite the delights within, Sushi Ota looks like every other low-key sushi establishment. There is a sushi bar with a flurry of activity, a wood-paneled interior that’s modest yet elegant, and a pricing matrix sheet on every table, all of which are perfectly aligned in a row down the small interior. From the outside, it’s easy to miss if you don’t look in exactly the right place, in the rear of a tiny strip mall off of Mission Bay Drive. Inside, the foyer is usually packed. Waiting entails an awkward stance by the door from which you can usually reach out and take a piece of shrimp tempura from someone’s plate.

The thing to order here, as it is in any excellent Japanese restaurant, is the omakase, code for ‘feed me like Shamu.’ In other words, this is the chef asking if you trust him to pick the sushi. Say yes. As a matter of daily dining, the chirashi bowl is easily my favorite entree, a good portion of assorted fish and almighty carby rice all in one place. If you visit for lunch, there is a smaller portion that is also satisfying — and less expensive.

After all of this, you may not even miss the sushi, but if you do, the combos are a nice way to try many things. Japanese cuisine is known for its delicate nuances, clean presentation, simple composition, and umami flavors. Cuts of tuna, salmon, and hamachi let you sample across this wonderful rainbow. The fish is the sort that tastes of the sea and dissolves in your mouth.

There are also the cooked dishes, like a few teriyaki things on the menu, and soups are common as starters, but my batter-loving heart always gravitates toward the vegetable tempura, somehow ‘cleaner’ here than anywhere else, where the crusty, crispy outer shell doesn’t mask or overpower the taste of what’s inside. For me, this is easily the best non-fish dish in the house.

If there’s a downside, it’s that the place is usually mobbed and tables are either not available or, if you’re lucky, you’re given one sort of like a timeshare and asked to finish eating within a certain amount of time. Basically, you can wait two hours and then you have 90 seconds to devour your food, or 45 minutes if I’m not exaggerating. Arrive with a reservation in hand to experience the most exquisite of meals.

Written by Joy

Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.

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